AI-Powered CAD Drawing Automation
An AI-driven pipeline that auto-generates cutting lists, BOMs, and component breakdowns from CAD files — cutting manual drafting time by 60%.
Role
AI Automation Engineer · CAD Drafter
Client
Internal R&D / Euro Design
Tools
Python · LLM · AutoCAD · Pandas
THE PROBLEM
Every furniture project required hours of manual work converting CAD drawings into cutting lists, bills of materials, and component breakdowns. This repetitive documentation bottlenecked the R&D team and introduced transcription errors.
THE CHALLENGE
CAD exports come in inconsistent layer structures and naming conventions across projects. Any automation had to reliably parse dimensions, materials, and part quantities without a rigid template — and validate its own output before it reached the shop floor.
THE APPROACH
I built a parsing pipeline that reads CAD exports, normalizes the geometry and metadata, then uses an LLM layer to classify components, infer material specs, and generate structured cutting lists and BOMs. A validation pass cross-checks totals against the source drawing before export.
PROCESS
THE RESULT
Documentation that previously took several hours per project is now generated in minutes. Manual drafting workload dropped by roughly 60%, and transcription errors were nearly eliminated.
METRIC
60% less manual drafting time
METRIC
~90% fewer transcription errors
METRIC
Minutes vs. hours per project
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- ▹Domain-specific validation is what makes AI trustworthy on the shop floor
- ▹LLMs excel at messy, inconsistent CAD metadata that rigid scripts choke on
- ▹Automation amplifies furniture engineering experience — it doesn't replace it